Dream come true
by willthegray
Summary: Tobias a beta tester of the age of 13 about to turn 14 and hates his life at home. sorry for bad summary, I dont want to spoil


I never really liked my family or friends. They were always a bother and didn't really understand me

I guess that's why I got into MMOs at such a young age. When I was 8 I started playing MMOs, I was smart for my age so it didn't really matter I was young. My parents would always drink and fight with each other and eventually got divorced; I never really minded it just gave me more the reason to be alone. I was never into joining guilds, I would do better on my own and I would get judged based on my age.

When I heard about full dive and VRMMOs I thought I could really get into them as I have so much time on my hands. I am 13 now and even somehow got into the sword art online beta. 100,000 people volunteered for the beta and I got chosen, during the beta I got barley any sleep as it was over the summer and abandoned all my other MMOs, I played so much I lost a few pounds but I had so much fun, even though our characters were going to get reset, I still knew I was lucky to get the knowledge others didn't get. I felt fortunate to be chosen for the beta but not a lot of these players seem that interested in the game as me... It doesn't even seem like they did any research on nervegear or the game. I made a few friends during the beta but it didn't last as I leveled past them and they got on less and less.

Since I was a beta tester I got to preorder the game, I watched online as people waited in line for the release. I watched the clock, waiting to login, thinking of what I would  
>use: sword and shield? rapier? daggers? There were so many options, less than most MMOs come to think of it; I liked using a single sword in the beta I felt like it had the most freedom and power.<p>

I smirked, it was 12:58. I was really lucky to get a copy as only 10000 people got the game. It sold out so fast it made me wonder why they only released 10000, didn't they want to make money? and why didn't they make a digital release? These thoughts scurried through my head as I got my nervegear ready.

"12:59" the clock read. I finished eating and put on my nervegear, I loved the feeling of getting linked in, it was like falling asleep.

5...

Excitement rushed through me; I was going into another world.

4...

I thought of how many years I was going to spent playing this game and all the adventures I would go on

3...

Almost there, I felt so happy…

2...

It was finally happening, a dream come true

1...

"Link start!" I was in, almost like magic. I used the name I always use in MMOs "Tobias", It sounded cool.

"A lot of people are logging in" I thought while going in, I guess they only let in 10000 so the server didn't crash. Confidence shone on my face, I spent my time in the betas getting good with fighting and finding the best spots to grind for early levels.

"I better start leveling fast, It'd be a shame if I got behind all the other players." I did all the early easy quests I knew I needed and went to the hunting locations. I was always good at leveling fast in MMOs, people would always call me a loser for grinding mobs but I didn't mind. On the way a lot of people look confused but excited.

I got the grinding location and got some easy levels... no one else was here I bet they were all talking or trying to figure out combat. My plan was going to let the other players beat the first few floors while I get a lot of levels and get better than everyone.

I thought about how I was turning 14 in a few days… I wonder what I am going to do for it….

Suddenly but slowly I was where I started with everyone else but this time there were more players who instead of looking happy looked confused or angry "what the hell, I was about to level up" I thought..."this wasn't in the beta." Everyone around me looked confused too, I thought me of all people would know what was going on. I figured that it was an opening event as this was the first good VRMMO and the game was a big deal. Everyone was freaking out, they should calm down It was just an opening event. I heard people saying they couldn't log out; I pushed it aside as something was going on in the sky.

'Players, I welcome you all to my world.'

That's a cool costume… why does he have no face?

'My name is Akihito Kayaba. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.'

I watched in awe, thinking how SAO would redefine gaming and set a bar for future game developers.

'I think most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of Sword Art Online's system.'

What does that mean... Can I log out a different way? I checked just to be sure… it was empty

'Until you get the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will'

It hit me like a train, I didn't know what think, it sounded like bullshit, it couldn't be true, I saw the look on everyone's face the same as mine. The players erupted in anger. "stuck in a videogame?" I thought.

'…also, the discontinuation or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted…'

Everyone become silent, not a single person was talking waiting for the sentence to end, it seemed like a lifetime...

'The signal sensors in your Nerve Gears will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.'

Destroy our brains? What did he just say? No way, he must be joking.

People in the crowd started muttering, but there was no one shouting or panicking. I didn't know how to react.

"To be a little more specific, dislocation from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to unlock, dismantle, or destroy the Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully get rid of the Nerve Gears. The result... regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world forever."

I didn't know what to think, In my mind I went through all the times I had died in a video game... over and over, how could I survive, I didn't get it. Everyone around me looked with doubt, but the doubt only faded as we came to realize we were still in the game and there was no way of getting out.

In time I came to realize this was always what I wanted. I always hated my home life and school only slowed me down, this was a dream come true.


End file.
